


wear my heart on my soundcloud

by chewhy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5 Times, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26971741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chewhy/pseuds/chewhy
Summary: The four times Tsukishima notices Natsuko and the one time Natsuko notices Tsukishima
Relationships: Kozume Kenma & Original Female Character(s), Tsukishima Kei/Original Character(s), Tsukishima Kei/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16
Collections: chewhy's completed commissions





	wear my heart on my soundcloud

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jellyelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellyelly/gifts).



> Thank you to @/janelleyelly for commissioning me! This was my first time writing in an OC character and honestly she was so cute and relatable, I hope I did her justice! A note on the plot - It is canon up until the night before the Nekoma vs. Karasuno match. I wanted Tsukki to see her while at a Nekoma match, but not playing it, so it’s canon divergent from there

_ One _

“Tsukki, come on!” Yamaguchi tugs at Tsukishima’s sleeve, forcibly dragging his phone away from his face. 

“What do you want,” Tsukishima growls, glaring up at Yamaguchi. While the others might choose to run and jump around in victory after winning their first game at nationals, Tsukishima’s preferred method of celebration is anything that doesn’t involve standing up for any longer than necessary – which is exactly why he’s squatting on the floor next to all of their duffel bags while the others run off to watch other games or shop. 

“Please, just come with me to buy a shirt,” Yamaguchi whines, pulling on Tsukishima’s arm once more. 

“Can’t you see I’m watching our stuff?” Tsukishima asks, turning back to his phone. 

“Aw, Tsukki! I’m sure you want a souvenir, too!” Before Tsukishima can respond that no, in fact, he does not want a souvenir, he feels a pair of hands wrapping around his wrist. 

“Hey, now–”

The thought of dragging his body all the way up the stairs and over to the stalls to buy some boring shirt with inspirational quotes on it sounds unappealing at best, but all he can do is squint in disgust, as Yamaguchi, by some miracle of strength, pulls Tsukishima up to his feet. 

They’re already halfway down the hallway by the time Tsukishima regains enough feeling in his legs to do something about it, and he just sighs as he resigns himself to his fate. 

By the time they make it into the main atrium, not only has Tsukishima managed to shake off Yamaguchi’s death grip on his bicep, but he’s actually somehow managed to lose Yamaguchi entirely. Tsukishima looks around the room, frowning slightly as he cranes his head to see if he can spot that strand of green hair among the crown, but only finds himself getting slowly pushed over to the wall. 

“If he’s going to force me out here, what’s the point of abandoning me?” Tsukishima sighs. He takes the opportunity to pull his phone back out and leans back against the wall, closing his eyes as he lets the music of his headphones wash over him. He’s sure Yamaguchi will come find him sooner or later, and he’ll just have to wait until then to let him know how  _ lame _ this all is. 

Of course, nothing ever seems to go Tsukishima’s way. He’s barely been there for a minute before he’s crying out in pain, hopping to the side with a yelp when something sharp crushes his foot. 

Turning his head with a vicious glare ready, Tsukishima is fully prepared to chew out whichever  _ asshole _ had decided to use his toes as a floor mat, only to see nothing there. 

And then he looks down. 

“Oh,” he finds himself saying, looking down at the top of the offender’s head. It’s a deep, red color that makes him think back to that Shiratorizawa middle blocker with a frown. Now that he’s thinking about it, Tsukishima realizes he’s kind of craving a cherry soda. Maybe there’s a vending machine nearby? 

For some reason, though, Tsukishima finds himself standing in the same spot and watching the scene in front of him with a small smile twitching at the corners of his lips. 

“Damn it,” the girl in front of him hisses, stretching on the tips of her toes, only for her fingertips to barely brush up against a shirt hung on the top row of the stall they’re next to. “Need,” she grunts out between swipes, “Longer arms.”

“You know,” Tsukishima drawls out, stepping around the girl to pluck the shirt down for her with ease. “The shirt right below it has the exact same quote on it.”

She frowns back up at him defiantly, squinting her eyes – paired with her round cheeks, however, Tsukishima finds it much more on the side of adorable than intimidating. He holds it out to her and she turns her face to the side, blushing. 

“I like that color,” she says, grabbing for the shirt before stalking around to make her purchase. 

“Teal?” Tsukishima asks. He can’t say he’s a fan; it reminds him too much of Aoba Johsai and their narcissistic setter. He never thought that somebody could be worse that  _ Kageyama _ of all people, but the universe just seems to love to prove him wrong. 

“ _ Seafoam _ ,” she hisses back, frowning again. Clearly, Tsukishima isn’t leaving a great first impression, but then again, when has he ever? Shrugging, he turns away to go grab that drink he was craving earlier, only to be stopped by a voice calling out behind him. “Wait!”

_ Ah, _ he thinks.  _ Here comes the “thank you” _ . 

“Yes?” he says out loud, turning back with a smirk. 

The girl stands in front of him, shirt neatly tucked into a bag fisted in her left hand while her right hand points a finger out towards Tsukishima’s chest. “Your jacket! You’re from Karasuno, aren’t you?”

_ Well that’s not a thank you _ , Tsukishima thinks as he looks down at the finger stuck in his face. “Yes, I am.” He knew that Karasuno was slowly making its name known by making it past the first round of finals and beating Shiratorizawa, but he hadn’t expected to be called out by strangers in the hallways. 

“Are you a first year?”

Tsukishima tilts his head to the side, squinting down at her. “Yes,” he answers slowly and hesitantly. 

“Middle blocker?”

When did this suddenly turn into an interrogation? Wasn’t she supposed to be  _ thanking  _ him for his help? Tsukishima finds himself slowly nodding yes anyway. He’s also not entirely sure how she’d managed to guess that, unless she’s been closely following their team. 

The girl’s expression suddenly changes then, brightening up into a strange mixture of excited and determined. It’s a look Tsukishima has seen on Hinata’s face far too many times, and in Tsukishima’s rule book? It’s never a sign of something good. 

“You must be Shoyo!”

_ What?! _

“Kenma’s told me a lot about you,” she continues, barrelling over Tsukishima’s sputtering. “For some reason I thought you would be a lot shorter, but you know what? Even if you’re way too long sized for a normal human being, Nekoma’s definitely goin’ to beat ya, ya beanpole!” 

Before Tsukishima can get in a word edgewise, she’s already turned around and gotten lost into the depths of the crowd. 

“Long sized?” he can’t help but mutter as he watches her walk away. 

– 

“Tsukki,” Yamaguchi asks, staring down at him. 

Tsukishima briefly glances up at Yamaguchi before flipping over and curling further into the covers. “You look very ugly upside down, Yamaguchi,” he says, even as his voice is muffled by the blanket. 

Yamaguchi seems to consider that for a moment before shrugging and laying back next to Tsukishima. “That means I must look very handsome rightside up.”

Tsukishima doesn’t bother to award him with an answer, preferring instead to close his eyes and tuck himself further into bed, but Yamaguchi merely takes that as an invitation to continue prattling on. “By the way,” he says, legs kicking at Tsukishima’s side as he gets settled under his own blankets. “You seem a little more…  _ Tsukki _ -ish than usual tonight.”

Tsukishima snorts, opening his eyes to glare at Yamaguchi’s ear. “The hell is that supposed to mean?”

Yamaguchi shrugs, squirming a little as he tries to settle on a phrasing that won’t offend Tsukishima’s surprisingly thin skin. “Well, even  _ you _ tend to get a little more agreeable after winning matches, but tonight you seem like your usual self – all sulky and pouty.”

“I don’t pout,” Tsukishima answers, even as his lips twist into a frown. Okay, maybe a little bit. It just happens to be his natural resting face, it’s not as if he can help it. 

“Yes you do,” Yamaguchi counters, twisting to pin him with an accusatory glare. “You’ve been like this ever since we came back from – oh. Are you mad that I left you alone for five minutes?” Yamaguchi asks. “I didn’t realize you had such  _ attachment _ issues, but hey if you missed me so badly, all you had to do was say–”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima growls, shoving a pillow into his face. “I was actually leaping with joy when you disappeared.” It was only what happened  _ after _ Yamaguchi disappeared, Tsukishima realizes, that his mood had turned somewhat sour. He can’t help that his mind has been on that redhead all this time. “Some girl mistook me for that idiot Hinata,” Tsukishima explains. 

“Hey, that’s mean!” Hinata shouts from the doorway – how he managed to overhear from that side of the room, Tsukishima will never know. That kid was built like a monster more than a human with his ridiculous reflexes and instinct. 

Meanwhile, Tanaka and Nishinoya are tripping over each other in their haste to approach, and Tsukishima finds himself abruptly lifted up by the collar of his shirt as Nishinoya interrogates him, “Some girl? What girl? Where girl? Why was a girl talking to you? Was she cute? Can you give me her number? Who is she? Does shey play volleyball?”

“No!” Tsukishima finds himself shouting on reflex, unsure himself as to which of the questions he’s answering. “I don’t know, I literally only talked to her for one second!”

“Oh, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says from beside him, merely watching as his very own best friend is mauled by the second years. “You’re blushing,” he says, teasing. “Tsukishima’s blushing! How cute  _ was _ this girl?”

Tsukishima has never wanted tomorrow to come faster in his life. 

–

_ Two _

Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “Do  _ not _ ,” he hisses at Hinata, grabbing him by the back of his collar. “Do anything of the sort.”

Hinata deflates, pouting as he stares forlornly at the reporter, ever so tempted to photobomb the news station camera. “But what if I just held up a little V sign?”

“No.” 

Tsukishima is fully ready to drag Hinata and Yamaguchi bodily away from embarrassing themselves and the Karasuno name along with it, when suddenly a commotion catches all of their attention.

“HEYYYY! SUPPORT NEKOMA! THEY’RE TOTALLY GONNA WIN! ALSO FOLLOW MY SOUNDCLOUD, MY NAME IS NATSUKO AND I PLAY COVERS AND WRITE MUSIC! WHOO!”

“Oh my god,” Yamaguchi squeaks out. Hinata is frozen in shock, or maybe he’s upset that he didn’t get the chance to do it first. And Tsukishima…

Tsukishima kind of wants to curl up and die from the second hand embarrassment he is witnessing at this current moment. He doesn’t know who the hell has the balls or audacity to publicly humiliate themselves like this girl is as she wildly waves her hands behind the reporter and Inarizaki captain, but–

Oh. She’s  _ that _ girl!

“So her name is Natsuko?” he mutters out loud, grip loosening on Hinata’s jersey.

“Huh?” Hinata asks, turning to give Tsukishima a suspicious look. “Do you know that girl or something? Was this pre-planned so you could give her space to promote herself instead of us?”

Tsukishima tiredly bats Hinata’s questions away, rolling his eyes as he turns to go warm up a little more before the game. “As if. I would never dare to associate with somebody who does things like  _ that _ .” Especially more so if she doesn’t know how to say thank you and mixes him up for Hinata, probably the one person he couldn’t be the most opposite from. 

But, for whatever reason, he mentally files the name away for later. 

–

Back at the inn, Tsukishima finds himself absolutely drained from the long Inarizaki game. Even though they’d won, he can’t help but feel like they barely scraped by with sheer willpower and luck. What’s more terrifying, however, is that the thought of losing makes Tsukishima  _ feel _ something in his gut, a dangerous sense of urgency that he’d never before associated with volleyball. 

Trying to calm himself down so he can get some decent sleep before the next big match tomorrow’s, Tsukishima leans back against the wall, letting his head bump back as he scrolls through his phone. 

He mindlessly scrolls through some socials and fiddles around on a game or two before realizing that none of it is doing anything to help calm his stress. Figuring he’s better off just listening to some music until he falls asleep, he reaches for his headphones. 

“Natsuko,” he mutters, flicking his way through his apps until he gets to SoundCloud. “Hmm,” he hums as he types out the name, frowning as he flicks through various unrecognizable profiles until… “Aha.”

_ “Natsuko Matsumiya, Tokyo” _ the profile states. The profile picture shows the girl curled over her instrument as her bangs fall into her eyes and her fingers barely peek out from beneath the yellow sleeves of her oversized jumper. Before he can start to scroll through her music, he finds himself clicking on the small circle to enlarge it further. 

Her eyes look down and off to the side of the screen, presumably at somebody else or a page of sheet music, maybe. There’s a soft smile on her face and looking closer, Tsukishima sees with surprise that she’s holding a bass, and not a guitar as he’d originally thought. It’s seafoam green, just like the color of the shirt she’d been trying to get that first time they’d met. 

She’s… kind of cute, he realizes. 

“Who’s that?” a voice asks in Tsukishima’s ear and he realizes with a jolt that he’s probably spent too much time staring at a stranger’s profile picture. 

“Nothing!” he says, shoving his phone face down in his lap as he scrambles to move away from Kageyama. That’s when he also belatedly realizes that he’s definitely  _ not _ acting like it’s nothing by behaving in such a way and clears his throat as he lifts his phone back up and briefly flashes it at Kageyama, barely giving him a chance to see what’s on the screen. “Just an up and coming indie artist I found on SoundCloud.” He can’t believe how pretentious the words feel coming out of his mouth, but it’s far better than the alternative of facing another interrogation like the one from the previous night. 

“Oh,” Kageyama says, and luckily doesn’t comment on Tsukishima’s fishy behavior or bright red face. These are one of the very few moments during which Tsukishima is grateful for Kageyama’s inability to pick up on social cues and slumps over in relief. 

Once Kageyama turns away to go back to yelling at Hinata for whatever new frustration, Tsukishima surveys the room with a quick glance before staring back down at his phone and pressing play on a song at random. The starting notes that filter in through his headphones seem somewhat familiar, and he finds himself turning the volume up a little more as he strains to remember where he knows this song from. 

Before he can fully figure it out, however, Tsukishima finds himself distracted, jaw hanging slightly open as the vocals come in. She’s… she’s pretty damn good. Of course, it’s clear this is not a professional recording by any means, but her voice manages to blend softly into the dreamy notes of the guitar and seep all the tension from earlier in the day out of Tsukishima’s shoulders. 

And then the bass solo is layered on top and Tsukishima knows. He just might be whipped for some random girl he’s barely held one conversation with. Granted, it’s really her music taste that he likes, but still… 

Glancing around the room to make sure Tanaka and Nishinoya are far, far away from him, he clicks through her profile and onto her Instagram, hesitating for a moment before whispering, “Fuck it,” and clicking on the follow button. His heart is pounding as he waits a minute for the world to implode or something equally devastating, but when nothing happens, Tsukishima manages to relax, slumping backwards into his pillow as he continues to let the music wash over his ears. 

When Hinata walks in a moment later, returning from the bathroom, Tsukishima tries his hardest not to glare, but judging from the way Hinata’s face goes pale as he crab walks to the furthest corner away from Tsukishima, he probably fails. Ah, well… It’s not that he’s  _ jealous _ or anything. It’s just bothersome that a girl with such good taste in music would think that Tsukishima is somebody to be mistaken for Hinata, that’s all. 

“Ugh, pathetic,” he groans, tugging the blankets up and over his head. 

“You okay, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asks from beside him, gently patting his stomach. 

“No. No, I am not okay,” he moans. 

Even as he complains, the next morning, Tsukishima realizes he’s gotten the best night’s rest of his life after falling asleep listening to the music of one Natsuko Matsumiya. 

– 

_ Three _

“Tsukki!”

Tsukishima frowns and immediately beelines it for the opposite direction from which Hinata’s voice just came. Before he can even take a single step, however, Hinata is already jumping up in his face as Tsukishima stumbles back in surprise. “What do you want, tangerine?” Curse Hinata Shoyo and that super speed of his. 

“Tsukki, come with me to watch Nekoma’s match!” Hinata pleads, bouncing up and down as he tugs at Tsukishima’s sleeves. 

“Why should I?” Tsukishima shoots back, flicking his wrist until he’s fully managed to detach Hinata from his arm. Stepping around Hinata, Tsukishima moves to pull his headphones over his ears, already itching to listen to that girl’s SoundCloud again when Hinata tugs them off of his head. 

“Because,” Hinata starts with a stern look (or at least as close as he can apparently get to an imitation of Daichi), “You’re friends are going to be there!”

Tsukishima frowns and snatches back his headphones. “What  _ friends _ ,” he hisses stubbornly. 

Hinata tilts his head to the side, looking up at Tsukishima with an inquisitive look. “Aren’t you close friends with Kuroo san?”

“No.” 

“Don’t you want to support him?”

“No.” Tsukishima can feel the beginnings of a headache coming on as he walks forward, Hinata snapping at his heels like a little dog. 

“But he helped you get better at blocking!”

“And I will return that favor on the courts,” Tsukishima deadpans, stepping around Hinata as he jumps up and down in front of him.

“But  _ Tsukki _ –”

“Fine!” Tsukishima exclaims, throwing up his hands. “Will you stop bugging me if I accompany you?” Before Hinata can respond, Tsukishima tosses his bags in his direction and walks forward. “You’re carrying my bags though.” 

Behind him, he hears a groan and a thump as it hits HInata squarely in the forehead. 

–

Nekoma is on the end of their second set by the time they make it to the courts with Hinata racing ahead. 

“Come on!” he shouts, zipping in and out of the crowd to a spot right at the sidelines. Tsukishima follows at a slower pace, muttering apologies to the people he passes as he goes on behalf of the idiot child he’s babysitting. 

Staring up at the ceiling now as a spectator, Tsukishima cringes, recalling the agoraphobia that descended on the entire team during that first match. As much as he and everyone around him has adjusted, he can’t help but slightly miss the familiar walls and ceiling of the gym back in Miyagi. 

“Whoo!” Hinata’s sudden cheering right up next to his ear has Tsukishima jolting in surprise as he winces away. 

“Shut up, idiot,” Tsukishima hisses but it’s to no avail as Hinata grabs his shoulders, shaking him vigorously until the world starts to blur around him. 

“Did you see that? Did you see that setter dump by Kenma? That was so  _ cool _ !”

Once Tsukishima gathers his bearings after shaking Hinata off his arm, he looks around to see that, although he missed the dump itself, the way Kuroo is vigorously mauling Kenma’s shoulders with hearty slaps makes it clear it was an impressive play that’s cinched them the set after a long rally. It’s only as the two teams are switching sides and he turns to watch the other team gear up to serve that he notices  _ her _ sitting in the bleachers. 

“Matsumiya?” he accidentally lets slip as he gazes up at her in surprise. By his side, Hinata looks up at him with a strange look. 

“Did you say something, Tsukki?” he asks, tilting his head. The look in his eye tells Tsukishima that he simultaneously knows too much and nothing at all, so he rips his stare away from the girl and glares stoutly at the net. Luckily, Hinata’s attention is quickly stolen by the whistle and the first serve shoots up into the air. 

Tsukishima’s attention, on the other hand… Even as his eyes try to follow the ball back and forth, he can’t help the way they flicker from each of Kenma’s sets and back up to the bleachers. 

The bleachers are far above them, but even still Tsukishima can hear her voice echoing above it all. 

“ _ Whooo! Go go Nekoma! Go go Kenma!” _

She’s dressed head to toe in red and even waves what appears to be a large cardboard cutout of Kenma’s face back and forth. Every time Kenma’s hands so much as brush the ball, she’s on her feet and hollering, be it words of encouragement, “Go Kenma! You can do this!” or words of… some other kind, “Come on Kenma! What are you even doing? I know you could have totally gotten that!”

At one point, Tsukishima watches as she gets so excited over a point that she accidentally flings the cardboard cutout out of her hands. It flies through the air before bouncing off of another poor bystander’s head, to whom she quickly runs over and apologizes, blushing as she bows her head down again and again. 

“What are you laughing at, Tsukki?” Hinata asks then, poking at Tsukishima’s face. 

Startled, Tsukishima clears his throat and turns to look back at the court, watching Kuroo flex his wrist before his serve toss. “Nothing,” he mutters, nudging Hinata away. “Focus on the game, Kuroo is serving.” 

He hadn’t even realized that he’d been smiling, much less laughing. Tsukishima realizes then that maybe there’s something he’s in denial of… Or maybe not at all. From then on, he devoutly watches the game, never taking his eyes away from the ball, no matter how loud her cheering gets. It isn’t as if it matters whether or not Tsukishima likes this random girl he’s barely exchanged words with. It’s clear she already has a boyfriend who she loves. 

Acknowledging the circumstances, however, doesn’t stop Tsukishima from frowning throughout the rest of the match. 

“They won!” Hinata shouts, jumping up and down with glee as he shakes Tsukishima’s shoulders. “I knew they’d win it! Now we’re one step closer to playing them during Nationals.” He clenches his fist tightly and rushes ahead to congratulate them on their victory.

Tsukishima allows himself to be dragged forward through the crowd until they’re standing closer to the Nekoma team. 

Out of nowhere, a bright red figure comes barreling down the steps, tackling Kenma in a hug that sends them both falling to the ground. 

“Woah there, Natsuko,” Kuroo says with a laugh, picking her up off the ground easily. “Careful with our setter, there. We still have more matches to play and we wouldn’t want to lose our brain, now.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Natsuko exclaims, blushing as she jumps back and out of Kuroo’s grip. “But congratulations!” she shouts, thumping Kenma across the back as if she hadn’t just heard Kuroo’s warning. 

“Ouch,” Kenma grunts, collapsing into a pile on the floor. “I’m too tired for this.”

“Heh,” Natsuko chuckles, “Oops? But come on, you should be celebratin’! Y’all were amazing out there, I could barely keep my eyes on the ball when it went fwoom and then zip and then boom! And Kenma, your sets were  _ incredible _ , as always, you just–”

“Kuroo,” Kenma speaks up even as Natsuko continues to talk over him with exaggerated hand gestures that vaguely remind Tsukishima of Hinata, in a strangely horrifying way. “Save me.”

With a laugh, Kuroo sets one hand down on Natsuko’s shoulder to nab her attention as he points back towards the exit and whispers something in her ear. 

“Oh?” she says, perking up as her eyes follow his finger. “A food truck? Really? Be right back, want me to get y’all anythin’? You know what, just text me!” and with that, she jogs out of the room before Kenma can even respond. 

It’s only then that the rest of the team finally seem to take notice of Hinata and Tsukishima standing to the side of the group. 

“Oi, Tsukki! Came to see the master play, now, did ya?” Kuroo calls out, waving him over. As Hinata runs to Kenma’s side to likely further annoy him, Tsukishima steps forward with a sigh. 

“Don’t worry, I only came because Hinata dragged me here.”

Kuroo doesn’t even pretend to be insulted as he clutches his stomach and laughs. “Of course, of course! It wouldn’t be you otherwise, huh?” 

Shrugging, Tsukishima fidgets with his glasses before reluctantly nodding as he says, “Congrats on the match.”

Kuroo smiles wider, if that’s even possible, and he pats Tsukishima on the back with a slap that’s  _ slightly _ too powerful to not be intentional. “Ah, but of course! When you’re as invested in the sport of volleyball as I am, you’ll understand. Did you want the whole game, though? Did you see that beautiful block I made? You know the one that I’ve shown you…”

As Kuroo goes on and on about his particularly amazing plays in this game, Tsukishima finds himself zoning out and frowning down at Kenma where he remains on the ground with Hinata sitting by his side. 

“Oi, earth to Tsukki?” Kuroo says, waving a hand in front of Tsukishima’s face to get his attention once more. “What’s got you in such a bad mood all of a sudden?”

“What?” Tsukishima says, frowning even more as he turns his glare back on Kuroo. “Nothing, what are you talking about?”

“You’re making that face,” Kuroo answers, stroking his chin as if he’s some kind of detective. 

Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “You’ll have to be a little more specific than that, Kuroo san. I do tend to have a face all of the time.”

“No, no,” Kuroo says, shaking his head. “It’s not your usual ‘I’m so cool that everything that requires any effort is extremely annoying and I hate it’ face. It’s your  _ actually _ pissed off face, like when Kageyama does a particularly great toss to you just to get on your nerves. But angrier than even that, maybe.”

He’s too intuitive for his own damn good. Tsukishima can feel his eyebrows twitching as he shrugs and turns to look at Kenma again. “I just think that Kenma could be a little bit less rude to his girlfriend, especially if she’s come out all this way just to cheer for him.”

“Kenma?” Kuroo asks, twisting so that he can see where Tsukishima is glaring. There’s a second of pause as he takes in Kenma (still on the floor) before he twists again to face Tsukishima with a look of incredulity in his eyes. “ _ Girlfriend? _ ” he asks, tone rising. 

There’s a moment of pause as Tsukishima realizes that he may or may not have just made a mistake. “Does… Does Kenma san not have a girlfriend?” Tsukishima asks and dear god, he begs for the answer to be no, even as he hopes to hear yes. 

“Tsukishima, why would you think that  _ Kenma _ has a girlfriend, of all people– Oh,” Kuroo says, realization lighting up in his eyes. “Did you mean Natsuko?”

Tsukishima very much wishes at this moment that he weren’t so tall. Maybe he’d stick out less obviously and could simply disappear into the crowd and make his escape. “That girl in red with the cardboard cutout of Kenma san’s face?” he asks, even though he knows what the answer will be.

“Oh my god,” Kuroo answers with a laugh. “I think Kenma would have a heart attack if he heard that somebody thought he was dating Natsuko. They’re like sister and brother, seriously!”

“Oh, I see,” Tsukishima answers, straight faced. He very much did  _ not _ see, as a matter of fact but that isn’t something that Kuroo needs to know. Or anybody, for that matter.

“But,” Kuroo speaks up again, and that’s when Tsukishima realizes that Kuroo’s intuition is something that really  _ must _ be stopped. “Why would you even care in the first place whether or not they were dating.” He says it very clearly as a statement and not a question, regardless of the phrasing. Kuroo squints at Tsukishima with a smirk, leaning forward into his space as he studies the blush spreading across Tsukishima’s cheeks and neck.

“I don’t care.” It’s pathetic, really, how much of a bold-faced lie that is.

“Oh, sure, sure,” Kuroo says, backing off with a lighthearted wave of his hands. “Sure, you don’t.”

There’s a pause and Tsukishima  _ knows _ it’s deliberate in the way Kuroo stretches his arms as he savors it.

“But, you know. If you ever need some coaching on something other than blocking, I’m sure I could spare a little time for my favorite student. Especially if he has a little crush.”

Tsukishima stares at the sky and wonders about the structural integrity of the building above them. What are the chances one of the light fixtures would just break and fall down on top of him right now? Probably not nearly high enough.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tsukishima answers instead, turning away so he can drag Hinata along with him as he runs away from Kuroo’s interrogation.

Even as he leaves, though, Kuroo calls out after him, “You always have my number, Tsukki! I’m quite good at talking to girls, I’m sure I’d give you stellar advice! Also don’t listen to anything Bokuto says, you hear?”

“What’s he going on about?” Hinata asks, staring up at a red-faced Tsukishima.

“Something ridiculous and crazy,” Tsukishima answers.

He simply wants to die, right then and there.

–

_ Four _

“Hinata! Kageyama! Where do you two think you’re going?” Ukai asks, standing in front of the doorway to the inn. He towers over the two as the blink up at him like deer in headlights, half crouched over to pull shoes onto their feet. 

Hinata and Kageyama look at each other in surprise as if they’d just noticed one another. In all likelihood, they probably had. 

“I was just going–“

“Needed some air–“

They both stop and frown as they talk over each other, attempting to speak twice more before they stop to huff.

Rolling his eyes, Ukai turns to call out to Tsukishima. “Oi, Tsukishima!”

With a sigh, Tsukishima drags himself towards the trio, frown plastered clearly across his face. “I would like to get some rest before the game tomorrow.”

Ukai rolls his eyes, ushering him to put on his shoes and follow the three of them outside. As expected, the bike sits waiting for Tsukishima. The little reflective lights attached to the handlebars seems to stare at him mockingly as he sighs and stares at his coach. 

Ukai merely shrugs and points to Hinata and Kageyama who are already jumping up and down in place and stretching their legs. “You know what to do. Make sure they don’t get lost or die. Also try to keep them from riling up other teams – with their luck, they’re bound to grate on some nerves,” he says with a sigh. 

It’s true, sure, but Tsukishima isn’t particularly in the mood to be chasing after these two idiots. He’d much rather be tucked in bed where it’s nice and warm while listening to his music and scrolling through Instagram. And yes, by his music he does mean the SoundCloud profile of an artist by the name of Natsuko Matsumiya. Is that creepy?

Mentally reassuring himself that he’s just a fan, he shrugs and walks over to the bike, putting in one earbud as he slings a leg over the side. 

“You losers better keep this run  _ short _ ,” Tsukishima says with a threatening glower. HInata cowers easily and turns away with a pout while Kageyama simply ignores him and jogs ahead. 

“Hey, wait up Kageyama!” Hinata shouts, chasing after him quickly. Tsukishima follows suit, biking along behind them. 

As he trails behind the two through the winding Tokyo streets, he decides that maybe it isn’t the  _ worst _ way he could spend his nights during Nationals. The sky is clear and the air has that cold, crisp quality to it he’s always loved about winter. Tucking his head further down into his scarf, he goes to turn up the volume on his music when suddenly, a figure appears right in front of him. 

“Ah, watch out!” he shouts, braking to a sudden stop. Even so, it’s not fast enough and the girl in front of him barely has time to squawk in surprise as she swerves in front of him. 

Tsukishima watches as the crash happens in almost slow motion – the girl, also on a bike, is staring down at her phone while she holds in both of her hands. Her bike itself is wavering side to side out of control as she barely balances it with her legs, too focused on whatever’s on the screen in front of her to see her surroundings. It’s only when she finally looks up in response to Tsukishima’s shout that Tsukishima recognizes her. 

“Natsuko?” he blurts out involuntarily before their wheels are bumping and the two of them go flying into a heap of limbs and spokes on the ground. 

“Ugh, shit,” Tsukishima says with a groan as she sits up. Checking himself, he notes that he’s luckily managed to avoid any major injuries other than a few scrapes on his hands. It’ll be a pain tomorrow for blocking, but he’s sure that taping them up will take care of it just fine. Then he looks down and realizes that he’s fallen directly on top of Natsuko, hands on either side of her head, who is staring back up at him in surprise. “Shit, sorry!” Tsukishima exclaims, hurrying off of her. He can barely feel the cold now because of how much his face is burning up from embarrassment. 

“It’s okay,” Natsuko answers before sitting up herself with a wince. “Ouch…”

Standing up, Tsukishima reaches out a hand to help her up, which she gingerly takes. “Sorry,” he mutters again out of lack of anything else to really say. 

“It’s okay,” Natsuko says, standing up and dusting herself off. “Oh, oops, I guess we’re just repeatin’ ourselves now, huh?” she says with a giggle. As she laughs, though, she groans and subconsciously moves her hand to her side and Tsukishima frowns in concern. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks, hands flitting forward before they fall back again to his side awkwardly. He’s not sure what he could do to help, anyway. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Natsuko answers, waving him off. “Just a small bruise, probably shouldn’t be laughin’ so much, ya know?”

“Um, right,” Tsukishima answers, fidgeting from side to side. He hates how awkward he’s being right now but he can’t help but seem to lose his words when he grasps for topics of conversation and small talk. 

“Anyway,” Natsuko continues brightly, smiling up at him and  _ oh _ her smile is stunning. “It was really my fault in the first place! I shoulda been payin’ closer attention to the road and all.”

Tsukishima snorts involuntarily at that, squinting down at her as he shakes his head and says, “That’s for sure.”

“Hey now!” Natsuko retorts, frowning. Hmm, Tsukishima isn’t sure that he particularly likes seeing that expression on her face. “No need to be rude about it!”

“You realize that if I’d been driving a car you could have gotten yourself seriously injured?” Then again, he can’t help but delight in teasing her. 

At that Natsuko wrinkles her nose and pouts, looking down at the ground in shame. “Well it’s not my fault your reflexes weren’t fast enough to get out of the way,” she mutters petulantly. 

Coming from anybody else, Tsukishima is sure he would have been irritated by a comment like that, but coming from Natsuko, Tsukishima can’t help but chuckle. “What were you even so invested in that had you in such a state, anyway?” he asks. Half of him just wants to drag on their conversation for even a little bit longer, while the other half is genuinely curious. Was she looking at text messages? An Instagram account? Who was on the other side of the screen that she could have been so invested in them as to lose track of the world around her?

“Huh?” Natsuko asks, before pulling up her phone. “Oh yeah, I was tryin’ to catch this Pokemon on Pokemon Go but – Oh my god! A Charmander! I gotta go!” she shouts, staring down at something on her screen as she rushes to pick up her fallen bike. “Nice meetin’ ya, Mr. Beanpole Glasses Guy!” she calls out behind her, once again biking with no hands as she focuses on her phone. 

“Be careful!” Tsukishima shouts at her retreating figure, even as she waves a hand lazily behind her. “Damn,” he sighs. “I didn’t even tell her my name.” Shaking his head, he goes to pick up his bike so that he can also go back to what he was doing earlier which was – shit. 

“Shit,” he says out loud for good measure, turning this way and that in concern. “Where did those idiots go?”

While he’d been busy with his failed attempt to talk to Natsuko, Kageyama and Hinata had run ahead and disappeared from his line of sight. 

With a groan, he covers his face with his hands. “Coach Ukai is going to  _ kill _ me.”

As he bikes back to the inn making slow circles and loops around the streets in hopes of finding Hinata and Kageyama around some corner, a thought flits through his mind. 

_ Worth it.  _

–

_ Plus one _

“Can you believe it?” Hinata asks through a film of tears. “We’ve done it. We’ve made it to the end of Nationals.” He barely makes it through the end of his sentence before he’s wailing again, clinging to Kageyama’s back. 

They stand around in front of the bus, slowly loading their luggage into the back as they clear out and get ready for the long drive back home. Even Tsukishima can’t berate Hinata for being so emotional at this moment, although that doesn’t stop him from mercilessly judging Hinata from the side. 

“Hey!” a voice calls out suddenly, and they all turn to see the familiar red of Nekoma’s jackets approaching them. 

“Kuroo san! Kenma!” Hinata exclaims, briefly letting go of Kageyama so that he can run forward and tightly wrap his arms around them instead. “What are you guys doing here?”

Kuroo shrugs and laughs as Kenma makes a pained face at the way Hinata’s snot drips onto his shirt, answering, “We couldn’t let you guys leave without a proper goodbye and congratulations, of course!” Dragging his eyes across the assembled Karasuno team, his search stops when he spots Tsukishima leaning back against the side of the bus. “Oh, and I brought a special guest.”

“Shit,” Tsukishima hisses under his breath and next to him, Yamaguchi gives him an inquisitive look. 

“Kuroo! Kenma! Where’d y’all – oh! There you are,” Natsuko says, appearing around the corner at that moment. It takes her a second to take in the rest of the team standing there and watching her curiously before she takes a step back in surprise. “Ah! Uh, Karasuno!” she stutters out, staring back at them. 

Kenma smiles at that and waves her closer, pushing Hinata so that his face is no longer buried in his chest. “Natsuko, this is Shoyo. I wanted to introduce you guys but I never got the chance until now, I guess,” he says, dragging Hinata forward. 

With a sniffle, Hinata messily wipes the tears and snot off of his face before reaching out a hand to shake, “Hi! Kenma’s told me a lot about you.”

Natsuko, on the other hand, seems frozen in place as she stares at HInata in shock. “Wh-what?  _ You’re _ Shoyo?”

“Um, yes?” Hinata asks, staring back at her and letting his hand fall back down to his side awkwardly. (Probably for the best, considering it was the same hand he used to wipe away his snot.)

“Ehh?” she exclaims, bouncing forward to take a couple of steps around Hinata. “What do you mean  _ this _ shortie is Shoyo?”

At that, the Karasuno team bursts into laughter while Hinata grumbles, “I’m literally taller than you!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kenma asks, looking at her inquisitively. “Did I make it seem like he was taller?”

“No, but, but…” Natsuko trails off in confusion, looking back and forth between Hinata to Kenma and back to Hinata again. “But what about that super tall blonde guy with the glasses? Isn’t  _ he _ Hinata?”

At that, Tsukishima finally steps forward to the center of the gathering, drawing Natsuko’s attention to him. “That would be me, actually. My name is Tsukishima Kei. First year middle blocker for Karasuno. There are two middle blockers in a game, generally.”

At that, Natsuko blushes bright red, taking a step back as she gapes at him. “ _ You _ ?”

Kuroo stands to the side, watching the events unfold gleefully. “Well, well, well, Tsukki! I didn’t realize you two had met already, huh?”

“I, we… wait! Aren’t you the guy from the bike, too?” Natsuko asks, squinting up at him. Tsukishima nods to confirm this fact and Natsuko squats on the ground, burying her face in her hands. “Ah, this is so embarrassin’, nobody look at me, please!”

“Ah, it’s okay,” Tsukishima says, leaning down towards her before straightening up again when he realizes everybody is watching him. “I mean uh… It was an accident, so. Don’t worry about it.”

“What’s this?” Tanaka says, coming up on his left side. 

Nishinoya similarly materializes on his left, digging an elbow into Tsukishima’s side. “So is  _ she _ the cute girl you were angry about that first night?”

“Angry?” Natsuko whispers, peaking up at Tsukishima from between her fingers. 

“No!” Tsukishima exclaims, flustered. “I mean, I was kind of annoyed, but I wasn’t angry! And I wasn’t angry about… You know what,” he exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. “We should get back before it’s too late.” With that, he squeezes through the crowd and clambers onto the bus with a sigh. 

Back outside, the teasing quiets down to an awkward lull as Natsuko watches Tsukishima turn away with a growing horror. “Oh my god, he  _ hates _ me,” she wails, covering her face again. 

“Um,” Kenma says, reaching down to pat her back. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but I’m sure Tsukishima doesn’t hate you. He even puts up with Hinata, so you’re definitely not that bad.”

“Hey!” Hinata exclaims, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Yamaguchi speaks up too, then, and offers a friendly smile. “Kenma san is right, Natsuko san! If Tsukki didn’t like you, he’d definitely just say it to your face. I think he’s really just embarrassed right now,” he explains with a laugh. 

“You two,” Daichi speaks up then, turning on Tanaka and Nishinoya. “You need to apologize!”

The two of them turn to face Natsuko and bow down quickly, mumbling their apologies while Natsuko waves her hands quickly in front of her face. 

“No, no, please! That’s perfectly fine, it’s not your fault! This is just a really misunderstanding, don’t worry!” she says, looking back at Kuroo and Kenma for help. Kenma just stares back at her while Kuroo starts laughing as if he’s just realized the funniest thing ever. 

“Wow,” he says with a sigh, wiping tears from his eyes. “Tsukki really needs some help, huh?”

With the atmosphere returning to the previous lighthearted atmosphere, they all go back to loading up their luggage and doing their final sweeps of the inn while a few people linger to talk with the Nekoma students. 

It’s only as they’re all slowly filing onto the bus that Kageyama, who’d been staring at Natsuko with a severe intensity for some time, finally speaks up. 

“You’re that artist,” he says finally, pointing right in her face. 

“I’m what?” she answers with a squeak, looking around for some sort of explanation. When none comes, she scratches her head awkwardly and stares back at Kageyama. “It’s kind of rude to point, ain’t it?”

Hinata quickly pulls Kageyama’s hand down, attempting to drag him on the bus before he can embarrass himself further, but Kageyama’s mouth is open before they even make it a step. “You’re that ‘up and coming indie artist’ Tsukishima was talking about and listening to on SoundCloud.” 

Natsuko freezes with her lips parted in surprise. “What?”

Without even bothering to dignify her question with a response, Kageyama turns away, satisfied now that he’s placed her face in his memory and clambers onto the bus with HInata following closely behind. 

Leaning out the door for one final wave, Hinata calls out, “Bye Kenma, bye Kuroo san! And it was really nice to meet you, Natsuko san! Please keep in touch!”

“Right,” Natsuko mutters back as Kenma and Kuroo wave at the departing bus on either side of her. She honestly has no idea what to make of the whirlwind of events that just took place in the past twenty minutes and decides that’s a problem for a later time. 

They stand there in silence long after the bus disappears from sight before Natsuko finally speaks up again. 

“Hey, you wanna go play Smash? I’ll beat you this time.”

Kenma huffs a tired sigh even as he agrees, “Your place?”

The three of them head off together, bickering over what to eat for dinner as they walk in the afternoon glow of the sunset.

–

Back at home, Natsuko groans and flops back on the couch after yet another round of being destroyed in the game. “How did you manage to beat me while playin’  _ Jigglypuff _ ?” she asks. 

“Another round?” Kenma asks, fingers already hovering over the controllers. 

“Gimme a fifteen minute break, my fingers are literally shakin’,” she says, holding up her hands for emphasis. Kuroo’s already fallen asleep on the floor, passing out after three rounds and plenty of food. 

“Alright,” Kenma says, loading up a screen for single player Smash. 

Rolling her eyes with a smile, Natsuko pulls out her phone to scroll through her socials mindlessly when her brain flits back to that last encounter with the Karasuno setter. 

“Up and coming indie artist,” she mutters to herself, giggling. “I like the sound of that.” Scrolling to the last page of her applications, she pulls up SoundCloud and frowns when she notices 40+ notifications in her inbox. “Oh my god,” she screeches, sitting up sharply and bumping Kenma off the couch. His on screen character similarly falls off the stage and Kenma sighs as he respawns. 

“What is it now?”

On her screen, her inbox is filled with the notification, “ _ Kei Tsukishima liked one of your tracks. _ ” Scrolling slowly down, her face colors with embarrassment as she realizes that he’d liked even her earlier uploads from when she’d been first making covers. Even so, she can’t help the smile that grows wider and wider on her face until she has to physically cover it with her hand because she’s grinning so wide. 

“I think,” she says slowly, leaning back further into the couch so she can kick out her legs in front of her, “I think that I have a new fan?”

–

Tsukishima climbs off of the bus with a groan, stretching his arms above his head as he yawns. Grabbing his bags and gear, he waits for Yamaguchi to say his final goodbyes before they walk out past the school gates, making their way back the familiar path. If he’s being completely honest, he’s missed home a little and it’s nice to finally be back. 

As they turn the corner by the shop, Tsukishima pulls out his phone and scrolls to SoundCloud to bring up the same playlist he’s been listening to on repeat, only to stop short in surprise. 

“What’s wrong?” Yamaguchi asks, turning to face him when he realizes Tsukishima is no longer walking next to him. 

There, on the screen, is written the words, “ _ Natsuko Matsumiya has uploaded a new track. _ ”

With shaky fingers, Tsukishima presses play. 

_ Now playing: Hello Mr. Beanpole _

– 

_ Bonus: A few weeks later _

“Kenma!” Natsuko screams, running into the room with a slam of the door. “Help me decide what to wear!” 

Kenma doesn’t even look up from his game, merely tilting his head to the side as he answers, “You’re blocking the screen.”

Natsuko shakes her head and sighs, walking around him to dump out the armful of clothes she’s carried over. “This is important!” she hisses until Kenma finally sighs and pauses his game, turning to face her. 

“Okay, what?”

“This one,” she says, lifting up a bright yellow sweater, “Or this one,” she continues, showing him a plain white shirt paired with a green skirt. 

Kenma just raises one eyebrow and turns back to his game. “They look the same to me.”

“Ugh, you’re no help at all,” Natsuko groans, flopping back onto his bed.

Kenma looks up at her when he hears her, frowning. “What’s the big deal, anyway? Are you going somewhere?”

Blushing, Natsuko turns her head to the side and mumbles something incoherent. 

“What? I can’t hear you,” Kenma asks again, nudging at her side. 

Turning to face Kenma, she blurts out, “Kei kun asked me to go on a date after y’all’s practice match today!” Immediately afterwards she buries her face in her hands, groaning. “I don’t know what to do! I’m so nervous – this is the first time I’ll be seeing him since that day I humiliated myself in front of everyone.”

Kenma chuckles at that, turning his game back on. “Haven’t you two been texting back and forth nearly every day since then?”

Natsuko nods, then shakes her head. “Yeah, but this is different! We haven’t had a chance to meet in person.” She pauses then, watching Kenma destroy his in game opponents on the screen with a twist to her mouth. “What if he sees me and decides he hates me?”

“Natsuko,” Kenma says, turning to look at her with a serious face. Behind him, his character dies on screen without his attention. “He will be happy to see you no matter what you wear because you are a beautiful, amazing person, and if he doesn’t I will make sure Shoyo pesters him until the ends of his days.”

“Kenma…” Natsuko whines, moving in and throwing her arms around him. 

He pauses then, considering her for a moment before he continues, “Also, you’ve showed me your texts with him. Tsukishima is not somebody who uses heart emojis on people he hates.”

“Oh my god, shut up!” Natsuko screeches, batting at Kenma with a pillow. 

He snorts as he pushes her off the bed before restarting his game. “Seriously, though. I mean it.”

–

Back in Miyagi, Tsukishima sneezes as he boards the bus. 

“You’re not getting sick right before our practice game, are you?” Hinata asks, pounding him on the back. 

“God, I can’t get sick now,” Tsukishima grumbles, pulling his jacket around him tighter. 

Sugawara laughs, passing by his seat and ruffling his hair. “That excited for the match, huh? Or is this energy for what’s coming after?”

As everybody on the bus bursts into laughter and good natured ribbing, Tsukishima groans and leans his head back, regretting telling Daichi why he wouldn’t be joining them on the bus ride back home. 

_ Then again, _ he thinks as he opens up his phone and pulls his headphones over his ears.  _ Definitely worth it.  _

_ Now playing: See You Soon, Kei Kun _

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [[twitter (ch3w2)](https://twitter.com/ch3w2)] and [[tumblr (ch3w2)](http://ch3w2.tumblr.com/)]!  
>  **kudos and comments always appreciated**
> 
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